Apr. 21, 2022
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. SEC, I’m an International investor from Australia, and I am invested in a diverse range of US securities. I put the majority of my life‘s savings & wealth into the US market under the pretence that the market is fair. I’ve put the product of my life’s work into US securities under the assumption that the counter-parties to my transactions are treated no differently to myself - that the rules of the system do not favour either side of the transaction, and that the risks are weighted equally and opposite to the corresponding rewards. The proposed filing, “SR-NSCC-2022-003“, eliminates the balance of risk and reward exchanged between the parties on either end of a transaction. Specifically, the instruments and processes in the proposed filings allow short-sellers, and naked short-sellers of shares to avoid the risks associated with their investment decisions. Using such instruments and processes, they can delay the delivery of their contractual obligations indefinitely without penalty, thereby circumventing many of the fairly-weighted risks associated with upwards price movement. This will encourage abusive use of short selling, and naked short-selling. A party that has shorted a stock so excessively that the price of the stock has been greatly affected, must buy back the stock in such quantities that the stock price will, again, be greatly affected. And for the time borrowed, pay interest to the lender priced in proportion to the price of the stock and the demand for it to be borrowed. That is (and absolutely should be) the balance of risk and reward associated with taking massive short positions. If this rule is being proposed to mitigate the disastrous consequences of an already-held position so risky it could start a chain of collapse, then it is the wrong rule, because it protects the culprit and creates a victim who would otherwise be rewarded (the buyer - the optimistic party who was hoping for growth). The majority of retail investors (who are more often than not on the buying end of short sales) work hard and have families, hopes and dreams. If they are right in their investment decisions, they should be rewarded in full, and on time. After all, that is also what is expected of them when they lose. I am whole-heartedly against the filing of SR-NSCC-2022-003. Please uphold the integrity and fairness of the market by abolishing the filing. Instead, propose rules that disincentivise idiosyncratic risk with proportionate costs and collateral, provide better transparency, and prevent fraud, corruption and collusion with tough, wealth-proportional penalties for persons conducting business or undertaking (PCBU’s). Kind regards, Timothy Chapman If you would like to contact me to verify the authenticity of this message, or for any other reason, please reply to this email address, or call me on +61404555300